Tag Archives: Knitting

I’ve released two new hats over the last couple weeks.

The first is Foraminifera, featuring a subtle cable pattern. It’s worked in Anzula For Better or Worsted, which, as you know, I love.

The second is Anemone, worked in Bijou Basin Ranch Bijou Spun.  I loved how this yarn bloomed once I blocked the hat.

This location, Veteran’s Park in Redondo Beach, is now my favorite spot for beachy photoshoots — it’s easy to get to (just a few miles from my house), easy parking, and good light especially with a (very common) morning marine layer to diffuse the sunlight.  Expect to see more photoshoots here in the future!

While I was in the midst of the final designs for The Wild West: Lace 2, I received this lovely little ball of Zealana Air for review.  Though I had other yarn earmarked for the Pygmy Owl stole, I swatched the initial stitch pattern (much modified for the final pattern, most notably the center yo, s2kp, yo being removed) with the Zealana. Scroll down to see unblocked and blocked pics (not at the same scale) of the swatch.

What’s in it? a blend of cashmere,  brushtail possum down, and mulberry silk.  It’s heavenly soft, as you can imagine, with a soft halo and a subtle sheen.  Worked into lace, it has a lovely drape.  Do note it’s not very elastic; just take that into account for project and stitch pattern choices.

I really enjoyed working with it, and would love to do a design in it — a small lace shawl, probably, to take advantage of the lightweight warmth.

Zealana Air retails at $28 per 25g / 191 yd ball.  Pattern support on the website includes several mitts, shawlettes, and a hat kit.

I received my sample from StitchCraft Marketing. All opinions are my own.

Kung Fu Knits, Elizabeth Green Musselman, Cooperative Press, 2014.

Digital download: $9.95
Paperback: $15.95 (comes with the digital download if purchased through Cooperative Press)

Elizabeth was sweet enough to answer some questions for me for the blog tour.

Steph: Does Liam knit yet?

Elizabeth: He has learned to knit, because he’s one of those delightful kids who’s curious about just about everything, but it hasn’t really “taken.” He talked me into letting him knit a scarf out of Malabrigo Worsted as his first project, and it’s been languishing for a couple of years. I think I’m going to quietly reclaim that yarn.

The crafts he really enjoys are sewing and weaving—the mechanical aspect of it is really fun to him. He sewed a great messenger bag for himself out of his old kung-fu belts, actually!

How do you balance knitterly details — stuff that makes a knitter want to knit your patterns — with the thought that men & boys may prefer simpler knits?

That is always the foremost thought in my mind as I design for guys. My patterns focus on knitterly details and unusual constructions that make the knitting process fun for the maker—but the end result looks constrained and classic so that it will appeal to a wide variety of wearers.

For example, I have designed a couple of men’s sweaters (the Colonel Henley and Bailey Island Cardigan) that both start with a very unusual and fun-to-knit top-down, saddle-shoulder construction.

That said, I do also like to cater to men and boys who have more adventurous tastes in clothing. So while the Colonel Henley looks like a classic military-style henley (despite the unusual construction), the Bailey Island Cardigan has an asymmetrical zipper running diagonally across the chest.

Does Liam still cook scrambled eggs for breakfast tacos? (Note: my husband & I visited Elizabeth and her family a few years ago, and Liam was excited to be cooking us brunch.)

Hahaha! Yes. He absolutely loves to cook, especially after hearing the very charismatic celebrity chef Fabio Viviani at a book signing a couple of years ago. He even asked for a pasta maker for his tenth birthday. You can believe he got it.

I guess we’ll be visiting expecting dinner next time!  Will you be doing another comics-themed collection?

I plan to, though I’ll have to find another model, since my son is rapidly entering teenage sizes. I’m thinking about a breakdance-themed collection for the next book.

What else is next on the horizon?

For men, I’m planning a series of classic sweater patterns (v-neck raglan, saddle-shoulder pullover, shawl collar cardigan, etc.) that will contain detailed instructions about how to adapt the instructions for the wearer’s measurements, personal style, and so on. They’ll include links to video tutorials for any advanced techniques.

Even more immediately, I’m collaborating with one of my favorite indie dyers on a collection of patterns for the whole family. They’ll be unisex in style and sized from small children up to men’s XL. The planning process with the dyer has been so much fun! We’re planning to release the collection in October 2015.

I’m so excited to see what you have in store!  Thank you, Elizabeth, for the great interview!

Would you like a chance to win your own digital copy of Kung Fu Knits?  Make a comment on this post noting your favorite design from AND your favorite design by Elizabeth not from Kung Fu Knits by midnight PST October 22nd for a chance to win!  (Check out all of Elizabeth’s designs here.)

See something you want right now? From now until the end of November, the coupon code kfklaunch will take 15% off all of Elizabeth’s self-published patterns.

Visit all the blog tour stops:

• 22 September     Mixed Martial Arts & Crafts
• 24 September     Fibretown podcast
• 28 September     Must Stash podcast
• 29 September     Through the Back Loops
• 2 October            Through the Looking Glass
• 5 October            The Knitgirllls podcast
• 10 October          Makewise Designs
• 15 October          Sunset Cat Designs (you’re here!)
• 17 October          Joeli’s Kitchen podcast
• 22 October          Slate Falls Press
• 3 November        Wattsolak

Kung Fu Knits is available on the Cooperative Press website and on Ravelry (as digital download only), and will also soon be listed on Amazon, Etsy, Craftsy, and Patternfish. Individual patterns will become available about a year after original publication.

I received my copy of Kung Fu Knits from the author.  My opinions are my own.

Yes, I’ll admit it: I subscribe to house porn the Houzz newsletter. But this time there was a nicely written article about Saguaro cacti, including a mention of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

When I was testing Cereus and Buteo, both done in laceweight yarn, a couple folks asked about doing them in fingering weight and working fewer repeats.  Because of the shaping and decreasing involved in crescent shawls that’s not always as straightforward as it seems like it should be!  Also, how some of the charts work with each other and transition into each other complicates the matter as well.

I did write fingering weight ‘versions’ (Tricho and Ferru), but changed enough that they became new, distinct patterns: the baby sisters of Cereus and Buteo.  Related, but unique.  I think they’re both a little less complicated. The body of both Tricho and Ferru is done in garter stitch, eliminating the need for the I-cord bind off of Cereus and Buteo.

Optional beads outline the center spine of each petal. Unfortunately the beads don’t show up as well in the pics as I’d like, but they’re there! I chose clear silver-lined beads for just a bit of in-person sparkle, but you could always choose a bolder or more contrasting color bead.

Tricho became the cover pattern of LACE 2.

I really loved working with the Anzula Dreamy yarn. It’s quite well named! It is soft and gorgeous and wonderful to knit with. It has a sumptuous, luxurious feel to it (both in the skein and when knitted).

You can get a feel for the scale of the shawl with the first pic of the post and with this next shot.  It’s big enough to snuggle into.  However, because of the gauge, it’s still a fairly quick knit.

Read all the details next…

Pattern Notes
This shawl is worked from the top edge down. Short rows shape the crescent. The shawl has a 3-stitch garter stitch border on either side.

If you use markers between repeats, note you may have to move the markers to match the charts from line to line.

Stitch counts are given for the number of stitches at the completion of each chart.

The main flower repeat is a modification of one of the flowers in Herbert Niebling’s Creamohne.

Finished Measurements
Depth (edge): 16in / 40.5cm
Depth (center): 21in / 53.5cm
Outer edge: 110in / 137cm
Inner edge: 54in / 279.5cm

Yarn
Anzula Dreamy, 75% superwash merino / 15% cashmere / 10% silk (385 yds / 352m per 4.06oz / 115g), 2 skeins, shown in Gravity. As knit, shawl used 693 yds / 634m.

Needles
US5 / 3.75mm needles or size to obtain gauge
Larger needle if required for loose bind off

Gauge
17.5 sts and 32 rows = 4in / 10 cm in garter st (blocked)
Precise gauge is not necessary, but alterations in gauge will affect yarn requirements. Note that this shawl is blocked quite vigorously.

Notions
yarn needle
(2) stitch markers
(365) 6-0 beads, shown in S/L Crystal
crochet hook, dental floss or Fleegle Beader for beading
cable needle for 1/1 crosses

Skills
lace knitting, cabling, beading (see Resources), reading charts

LACE 2 is now out! You can purchase the e-book or individual patterns on Ravelry here.

Patterns included: Cereus, a laceweight crescent; Tricho, a fingering weight crescent with beads and garter stitch details; Ferru, a fingering weight crescent with garter stitch details; Buteo, a laceweight crescent with beads; Opuntia, a laceweight triangular shawl with an ombre beaded effect; Pygmy Owl, a laceweight stole with beads;  and Steller’s Jay, a one-skein fingering weight crescent.

Use code LACE2 to get $3 off the e-book between now and Sept 26 2014.

ps: if you’re a newsletter subscriber, look for a special offer in the next newsletter!